Desolation River
The Desolation River was a winding river located in Vo-Powai, Powai Nui. It was notable for its strange properties and apparent deviation from standard fluvial morphology. History Despite the advanced knowledge of geology on Powai Nui, which would normally allow scholars to determine a feature’s age by observing the strata it is associated with, the anomalous properties of the Desolation River have rendered these methods useless. As such, it cannot be dictated how old the river is and whether or not it was created along with the rest of the island or formed after the island’s creation. As has been determined by comparing the Desolation River with the morphological behaviors of other rivers in Vo-Powai, throughout its history, the Desolation River did not change its course in any way despite the variety of geological changes in the earth surrounding it. The river has stayed unchanged from its original, course which in itself wound down a large hill rather than running straight down it, another part of its unnatural behavior. Few records from the tribal age of Powai Nui's Matoran have been uncovered that mention the Desolation River suddenly drying up, so the exact time at which water flow was cut off from it is unknown. What event caused it to dry up is unknown, although seeing as much evidence suggests that it received water from snow melting in nearby cirques, shifts in Vo-Powai's climate were likely to blame. Scholars have estimated that it happened a short amount of time before the arrival of Qedua on the island and thus before the recording of history advanced greatly. After Qedua gave Powai Nui its official name (which originally couldn't be decided on by the Matoran), the idea of giving locations and features official names grew and popularity. One of the products of this naming spree was the name of the now-dried Desolation River, which was obviously based on its lack of water flow. Shrine of Salvation Later, during the Wraith Syndicate's invasion of Powai Nui, Makuta Hysterix and the Dark Hunters "Alchemist" brought a modified section of the Staff of Vortices to the Desolation River. They planned to use the Staff of Vortices' abilities to enter into the Kakkan Containment Organization's tunnel systems through a portal and steal the Mask Maker's Tool, an artifact the Makuta coveted greatly. The recently-formed Toa Powai confronted the two, however, and their leader, Maroona, successfully trapped the Makuta's body inside the pocket dimension accessed by the section of the Staff of Vortices. The events that would transpire after this lead to the Great Regression, a time when panic spread across Powai Nui, inciting its populace to segregate from one another and go into hiding for protection from the apocalyptic occurrences that were rumored to come. When word broke out that an air raid sent by the Brotherhood of Makuta would only attack the island if Toa were detected, the Toa Powai were hidden within the section of the Staff of Vortices (which became known as the "Shrine of Salvation" after this point). The Shrine was soon lost but was later found by Maroona in the Desolation River. Following the arrival of aggressive Leskya Nuian Matoran and Toa on the island and their attempts to colonize it, the Desolation River became a significant location as it acted as a road connecting the colonists to the hideout of the Toa Powai, who were summoned from the Shrine. After the conflict between Leskya Nui and Powai Nui was resolved, the Desolation River was designated a historically significant landmark. Appearances * The Feral Plains/Volume I - First appearance * The Feral Plains/Volume II * The Feral Plains/Volume III * The Feral Plains/Volume IV * The Feral Plains/Volume V * The Feral Plains/Volume VI * The Feral Plains/Volume VII * Against the Storm/Volume VI Category:Powai Nui